


It's the end of the world (but the beginning of you and me)

by january_rain



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: All of 127 is mentioned though not everyone has a speaking part, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Chicago pizza, Crushes, Doyoung is almost poisoned by Jungwoo and Yuta due to questionable cooking, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Mark Lee (NCT) is Whipped, Mark plays guitar, Sharing a Bed, Taeyong saves him though so it's all good, sort of pre relationship but Johnny does in fact like him back, there are zombies but they're only briefly mentioned/spotted in passing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:27:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28861773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/january_rain/pseuds/january_rain
Summary: Mark had always wanted to go to Chicago.Mainly for the pizza, honestly, because, oh man. Chicago pizza was supposed to be, like, some of the best pizza one could hope to eat. According to what he'd heard from tv shows and word of mouth anyway. It was practically a fact that you hadn't really lived (or eaten pizza) until you tried some.Which sucks, because pizza isn't really a top priority in the middle of, y'know, a zombie apocalypse.
Relationships: Mark Lee/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 2
Kudos: 47





	It's the end of the world (but the beginning of you and me)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jingletown](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jingletown/gifts).



> This was written for a friend who suggested Johnny/Mark Zombie Apocalypse AU + "I didn't know you played the guitar."
> 
> I hope I did okay with it and I love you!! I hope this can make you smile <3

Mark had always wanted to go to Chicago. 

Mainly for the pizza, honestly, because,  _ oh man _ . Chicago pizza was supposed to be, like, some of the best pizza one could hope to eat. According to what he'd heard from tv shows and word of mouth anyway. It was practically a fact that you hadn't really lived (or eaten pizza) until you tried some. 

Which sucks, because pizza isn't really a top priority in the middle of, y'know, a zombie apocalypse. 

Which, yeah. Was a thing. A thing that had definitely taken the world by surprise. Or most of it, anyway. (Who knew those people who prepped for that kind of thing would ever turn out to be right? Mark certainly didn't.)

Even though there had been the people who were prepared for this kinda thing in theory however, you can't prepare for everything. 

See, after the initial outbreak a lot of people went a little crazy trying to protect themselves and others went a little crazy with the sudden lack of normalcy. In the midst of all the madness and panic of dealing with actual zombies, a lot of people took advantage of the chaos to do whatever they wanted. Combined with the zombie issue, that created a lot of problems. 

Things eventually settled down ( _ though he means this in the loosest sense possible _ ) and people achieved a new normal. 

A very bleak, post-apocalyptic normal, but normal for the times nonetheless.

There had been rumors of a cure being worked on, but the city near the facility in question had had one of the worst outbreaks yet shortly after it started and no one had heard from anyone there again. 

It's still weird to think that several years ago, Mark could've been here on a family vacation when it was still a place worth seeing. Taking in the sights and sounds of a new city, deep dish in hand and in mouth. His sister had always loved museums, would have dragged their parents to every one they passed if possible. Mark thinks of that as he spots one from his vantage point on the roof of the place he's been scouting. It's been years since he lost them, back when he was just barely a teenager, but memories of them still make his heart ache when they catch him off guard. He doesn't have much time to dwell on them at the moment, though.

Movement down in the street catches his eye and he goes still as he tracks three walking dead stumbling along the street from the old pair of binoculars he'd found and taken for seeing things better from afar. They seem bumbling and harmless from this distance, but Mark's seen first hand just how savage and dangerous they can become once they have a target in sight. 

Mark doesn't stop to loiter around. He stows his gear away and gets out of there as quickly and quietly as he can and heads back to where he left the others to let them know.

  
  


—————

  
  


Despite the circumstances, Chicago's not been all bad. It's where he met Johnny, after all. 

About a month or two back now, Mark had been separated from the rag-tag little crew of survivors he'd slowly met after crossing the Canadian border to see if there was anything better in America (not much, but he'd had nothing left in Canada so it didn't matter all that much). It had been an honest mistake, but he still feels a little guilty when he thinks how things could have turned out if Johnny hadn't showed up when he did. 

See, Mark had gotten distracted when they first arrived trying to figure out the beat up old map of the city they'd picked up another state over before the zombies had become too much to handle there. One second he was rounding a corner ahead of the group, intently searching the map, the next there was a street full of undead between him and everyone else. 

They were honestly about to close in on him and probably make him another one of their brainless ranks when seemingly out of nowhere (later he was told by an awed Jungwoo that his savior had jumped out of the second story window of the apartment behind him, which was just as impressive, honestly) a guy much too handsome for living in such times took a machete to the horde and single-handedly cleared them out. 

Johnny had dropped the machete and gently looked him over afterward, eyes turning more relieved as he confirmed Mark was alright before the rest of Mark's friends swarmed him to do the same. 

Mark may or may not have instantly fallen in love, or something very similar. His brain tries to rationalize it must have been partially due to the near death experience, but as he gets to know Johnny later on Mark isn't convinced that's the case judging from the funny little flips his heart does when he's around him. 

They happily add Johnny to their group after that, and Mark isn't sure if he's more relieved or if Yuta, Taeil, and Jaehyun are that they have another 'melee fighter'. 

Doyoung is just thrilled to have someone with actual knowledge of the place they're in now. Mark can't blame him. He wasn't exactly the best at reading maps. 

Johnny, though—Johnny was raised in Chicago, apparently, back when things were normal. And unlike Mark, who had fled his ghost town hometown as soon as he got the chance, he couldn't bear to leave. 

His local knowledge of the city and its various ins and outs had been so much better than the old maps that Mark had been using previously. It's some small miracle they even made it to Chicago to begin with, Johnny muses that night when they're explaining the sights they've seen since traversing the US.

_ It was definitely a miracle meeting Johnny _ , Mark nearly blurts out, but he's pretty sure everyone else would be quick to agree even if he did. 

  
  


—————

  
  


Taeyong is in the kitchen with Jungwoo and Yuta when Mark arrives, one helping and one hindering (though which is doing what is a toss up). 

“I’m pretty sure the tomatoes are  _ not _ supposed to look like that.”

“Oh, so you’re an expert at making spaghetti sauce, are you?”

"I  _ was _ an expert at  _ eating _ it—"

"Children, please," Taeyong tries to mediate, caught between the two of them as they bicker over whatever is in the pot and utilizing his no-nonsense voice to the fullest.

They still haven't noticed him come in, and Yuta nearly has Jungwoo in a headlock at this point, Taeyong futilely squished between them, so Mark tries to defuse the situation before one of them can take things further.

“As long as it’s not, like, gonna give me food poisoning or anything, I’m down to taste test.” 

Their group-vote-appointed leader greets him with relief in his eyes as Mark sets his supplies away and takes a seat at the table while Yuta lets go of Jungwoo in favor of grabbing a chipped bowl and a spoon. There's a slightly terrifying glint in Yuta's eyes as he approaches Mark and pulls up a tall seat next to him to watch him try the food in question that almost has him regretting volunteering. 

A few of the chairs have been pulled from various other apartments on the same floor to accommodate everyone, so most of them are mismatched. Donghyuck had complained about being assigned a toddler's chair until Doyoung told him if he was throwing a temper tantrum about it then the chair was meant to be his. (Mark and Jaehyun had ended up laughing despite how hard they tried not to and received the cold shoulder from the youngest of them for the next two days. Johnny had laughed as well but because Donghyuck had a secret soft spot for him he was treated just the same, which,  _ okay _ , fair enough.)

"Any news?" Taeyong asks, likely hoping to get it before Mark is possibly taken out by his own team.

"No more survivors, but there were three more zombies about thirty blocks away? They were heading farther out into the city though, I think," Mark replies. 

Taeyong frowns but nods at his report. "I'll get Taeil and Yuta to track them down tomorrow." 

Out of everyone, those two were in the best condition for fighting at the moment. Johnny had injured his leg two weeks back and Jaehyun had come down with a cold the week before. Jungwoo and Doyoung had run out of bullets two days ago, but they at least had an idea of where to pick up more.

"Alright, alright," Yuta says impatiently, leaning forward and holding out a spoonful of what vaguely looks like it  _ might _ be edible and making a motion for Mark to open his mouth. The smell, however, has Mark wincing the closer it gets to his face. Perhaps being a guinea pig for the sake of peace wasn't the brightest idea in hindsight. 

"Are you really going to risk getting Mark sick with that? I thought he was your  _ favourite _ ."

He's saved from being subjected to the questionable substance by Johnny's teasing, who comes out of his and Donghyuck's shared room with a grin to lean in the doorway as he observes the commotion happening in the kitchen. 

Yuta gasps and pulls his hand away like it's been burned at the revelation. "You're right! That won't do at all."

Taeyong breathes a sigh of relief that is short lived as Yuta springs up with his bowl and looks to Jungwoo.

"Doyoung!" They call out in unison, and make a dash for his and Taeyong's room. 

Taeyong makes a noise that reminds Mark of the Windows shut down sound before heading after them, muffled sounds of Doyoung's shrieks coming from down the hall. "Can you two maybe  _ not _ kill my best friend? I need him for emotional support!"

Johnny looks over to Mark and winks across the now empty kitchen. "Guess you owe me for saving your life twice now, huh?"

"I guess so," Mark laughs awkwardly, conscious of his ears heating up. 

Johnny's grin widens, and he has to take a moment to do a quick breathing exercise to calm down his heart when Johnny turns to get rid of Yuta and Jungwoo's concoction. 

The two of them pull together an actually edible dinner by the time Taeyong has managed to get everyone else under control. It's not the greatest with their current supplies, but no one dies from eating it so they consider it a win.

While the others get dish duty and Johnny goes to check up on Jaehyun again, Mark quietly slips away into his room. 

  
  


—————

  
  


In one of the bedrooms of the nextdoor apartment of the empty high rise complex they're staying at now he'd discovered an old guitar in the back of the closet while searching for spare clean clothes. Zombies didn't care much for anything other than food, so things like guitars aren't actually rare, but they're not really all that useful for staying undetected in addition to being heavy to lug around since they're always on the move. 

He had decided to take it with him anyway, even if only temporarily. For nostalgia's sake.

Mark hasn't played in years, so he's not entirely sure how this will go, but luckily his muscle memory kicks in (albeit after a few out of tune scales and off key warm ups).

He's so lost in playing that he doesn't notice when Johnny has joined him until he hears his voice from somewhere in front of him. It's quiet and soft, just like the rain that started to fall after dinner. 

"I didn't know you played guitar."

Mark opens his eyes, blinking at the sight of Johnny standing there in an outfit that doesn't have even a little bit of blood on it for the first time in a while. His hands are a little clammy, so he absentmindedly wipes them on the side of his pant leg, not wanting to mess up the instrument in his lap.

"Yeah. Lessons, since I was maybe, five? Six?" He can't quite recall. "My mom taught me. She loved music."

"It's good," Johnny compliments, taking a seat on the floor and leaning back against the small bed of Mark's temporary room. His eyes aren't sharp in the way they are when they're out on patrol and looking for threats, but they still seem like they're piercing through him. It's not an entirely unwelcome feeling. "You're good."

The two of them sit in companionable silence for a while after that, kept company by the steady fall of rain from the storm outside. 

"Could you play me some more?"

The request is almost lost amid the sound of the rain, but Mark still hears it. He's a bit embarrassed, but at the same time pleased. He hums an affirmative. 

His fingers move on instinct, playing music he'd always thought was fitting for this kind of weather. 

Soon enough, Johnny's breathing turns slow and even, lulling Mark to the edges of sleep as well. 

He sings a little of the last song instead of humming, soft as he can.

  
  


"... _ And just when I find the words to speak _

_ The night turns cold and I turn weak _

_ So I say nothing _

_ So I say nothing _

_ And just when you start to fall asleep _

_ You wake me up and touch my cheek _

_ And I need nothing _

_ And I need nothing nothing, but that _

_ The night is an ocean the stars are its fleet _

_ They sail to the sun and reel in defeat _

_ They fade to nothing _

_ They fade to nothing at all _

_ Oh, little darling, stubborn and sweet _

_ Can't figure out what all of this means _

_ I would say nothing.. _ ."

  
  


Eventually his fingers grow tired and the steady rain falling outside pulls him under, too. 

At some point later on in the night he briefly stirs as Johnny gently takes the guitar from his lap. It's darker outside now, the rain from earlier that evening turned into a full blown thunderstorm. He's too tired to move it himself, so he doesn't protest.

Johnny must be tired as well, because as soon as he puts the guitar away and gets the blankets over Mark, he slips under them as well. 

"G'night," Johnny mumbles, already half asleep once again. 

"...Night."

Mark drifts off again, a little slower than before, to the pleasant feeling of Johnny, warm and solid next to him, in a bed only suited for one person. 

He's not sure where tomorrow will find them, or any of the days to come, really.

He's not sure if this unspoken thing between them that neither has ever really completely acknowledged will ever amount to anything. 

But just underneath the cold uncertainty of the future is the calming, long forgotten sensation of feeling at  _ home _ .

**Author's Note:**

> Playlist of songs Mark plays:
> 
> I Don't Want To Lose You - Luca Fogale
> 
> Can You Hold Me - NF
> 
> Someone To Stay - Vancouver Sleep Clinic
> 
> Neptune - Sleeping at Last
> 
> The Night Is An Ocean - Winter Aid (the one he sings part of at the end)
> 
> Also! I made a twitter for writing/writing updates if you want to keep up with any new works or updates or just chat about story ideas! It's @january__rain with two underscores :)
> 
> Thanks for reading, drop a comment if you'd like, and have a great day! <3


End file.
